[Metastatic carcinomatosis of the dura mater of the brain].

On the basis of 309 cases of visceral cancer with intracranial metastases studied pathomorphologically, the author describes the clinical features of relatively rare forms of intracranial cancer metastasis: those of isolated carcinomatosis of the cerebral dura mater in 14 patients and carcinomatosis of all the three meninges in eight patients constituting 4.5 and 2.6 percent from the total number, respectively. The clinical picture of disease is shown to depend on the form of metastases (nodular or diffuse), their localization on the basal or the convex surface of the cranium and brain, and the phase of disease. Correlation of clinical signs in metastatic isolated carcinomatosis of the dura mater with those of isolated carcinomatosis of the two inner meninges resulted in identifying a series of symptoms differing significantly in frequency. Informative clinical indices permitting differentiation between carcinomatosis of the meninges and intracranial cancer metastases are provided.